1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the formation and maintenance of groups of network-node access agents that interconnect a Local Area Network (LAN) with a Wide Area Network (WAN). More particularly, the invention relates to access agents cooperating with each other to choose a group leader, or join as a group member.
2. Description of Prior Art
Access agents are intelligent communication subsystems located in network nodes at the interface between a Local Area Network (LAN) and a Wide Area Network (WAN). The access agents control the flow of communications between the LAN and the WAN. Typically, there is more than one network node and, thus, more than one access agent between a LAN and a WAN. Also, a given LAN may be composed of multiple LAN segments connected by communication bridges (links between LAN nodes in separate LAN segments). Thus, there may exist multiple paths between a given LAN end station and an access agent in a network node at the LAN/WAN interface.
In the prior art, the access agents have been managed in such a way that communication work across the LAN/WAN interface selected one access agent based on a predetermined criteria, such as cost. Once the optimum access agent for a given communication was selected, all other access agents, that could also be used to perform the same work, were blocked, or shut down. As a result, multiple communication jobs were queued and waited in line for the optimum access agent to handle them in turn.
The problem with the prior art design is that it wastes the communication power available at the interface between the LAN and WAN. If the access agents could be managed in a manner to split the workload between multiple access agents, then multiple communication jobs could be performed in parallel, and the total communication workload completed more quickly. However, this means that the access agents must be formed into a group, and each access agent in the group must be managed so that the access agents perform the total workload as a group with communication jobs being performed in parallel. To date, there are no communication systems having LAN/WAN access agents that are so formed and managed to perform total communication workload, i.e., multiple jobs, as a group.